TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Left: David Rollins collects surface
grab samples.
Land Management Examined in
Siletz Basin
For the last few decades, a con
tinual controversy has existed over the
effects of land management activities
and water quality in our coastal region.
The discussion has focused on timber
and agriculture land management (skid
roads, road building methods, road
failures, slope failures, and agricultural
riparian grazing).
Twenty years of regulation have
passed and in many cases, sediment
loads appear to have decreased, yet
there remains much controversy. This
controversy, along with such things as
the lowering of stream temperatures and
the presence of chemical pollutants in
our waters, has in part led to a process
where states are now required to define
allowable levels of non-point source
pollutants.
A non-point source pollutant is any
pollutant that doesn’t have a single
direct source, such as a water pipe or
smoke stack. These allowable levels are
called total daily maximum loads
(TMDLs), which are the levels of
suspended sediment, a particular
chemical, or the increase in a stream’s
temperature that are allowed in a given
zone of a given stream.
When these levels are exceeded, a
regulatory action should occur. Devel
oping these TMDLs will occur in the
mid-coast region in the next few years.
The Siletz Tribe has begun a
research and monitoring program to
examine suspended sediment levels
across the Siletz River basin in an
attempt to better understand natural and
human-influenced factors that affect the
presence of varying levels of suspended
sediments in our local waters.
During the winter of 2000, the tribe
began collecting suspended sediment
samples at several sites across the Siletz
basin to develop a better understanding
of fine sediment transport.
The tribe’s first goal is to examine*
fine sediments on a landscape scale
using GIS (geographic information
system) data sets. This will allow the
tribe to match data sets, such as number
of miles of roads, traffic levels, land
management, steepness of the land,
basin geology, and rainfall levels to
measured river sediment levels.
The second goal is to examine the
effects of fine sediments on local stocks
of salmon and lamprey. During the
winter of 2004-2005, the tribe will
begin looking at how survival of salmon
eggs buried in stream gravel is affected
by varying levels of fine sediment being
transported in the water column.
Five different streams will be selected
for varying levels of sediment loading
during typical winter high-water
periods. Spawning salmon nests will be
counted over time. Hour-by-hour sedi
ment, rainfall, and stream flow levels will
be measured with automated meters.
These data will be compared to
salmon egg survival during winter. Feed
ing and metabolic rates of larval lamprey
living in varying levels of fine suspended
sediments also will be examined.
Research and monitoring likely will
continue up to and after the develop
ment of TMDLs for the Siletz River.
STGRA Job Available
Title: P/T Hearings Commissioner
Accountable to: Tribal Council
Pay Scale: $25/hour for regulatory
duties up to 80 hours/month; Tribal
Council hourly rate for training and
conferences
•
•
•
Minimum Qualifications
•
•
10
Five years experience in a policy
and decision-making position
Must be able to read and compre
hend various reports, regulations,
and documents pertaining to Indian
gaming
□
Siletz News
□
Ability to review, analyze, and
interpret financial reports
Ability to read and objectively eval
uate employment applications and
background investigation reports
Ability to work cooperatively as a
member of a team
Closing date: April 30,2004
Contact the CTSI Employment Job
Line at 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1296,
or 541-444-8296, or visit http://
ctsi.nsn.us.
April 2004
Below: Siletz River sediment
monitoring sites
Law Enforcement Tip
Strong Odors Give Away Meth Labs
The production of methamphetamines in makeshift laboratories puts both the
producers and their neighbors at risk. The strong chemicals used in a drug lab
result in strong odors that can be easily recognized beyond the confines of the lab.
These chemicals can cause irritation, headache, dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms.
Call the Siletz Tribal Police at 541-444-8371 or 541-336-5555, your local
police department, or 911 if you suspect a drug lab in your area.
Odor
ioni
Sweet or aromatic odor often
accompanied by a sweet taste.
Commonly described as “hospital odor.”
Sweet odor from common solvents
Solvent-like
used in paint thinners, adhesives,
cleaning fluids. Types of odors often
found at auto body or furniture
refinishing shops.
Typical pungent, acrid, or sour odor
Vinegar-like
found in vinegar, mayonnaise, salad
dressings, or pickled foods.
Ammonia-like Sharp, irritating odor similar to that
from wet diapers, cat urine, glass
cleaners, cattle feed lots, or fertilizers.
Ether-like
Acute Effect
Nasal irritation, nausea,
headache, and dizziness.
Eye, skin, and nasal
irritation; nausea, dizzi
ness, and headaches.
Eye, skin, nasal, and
systemic irritation.
Eye, skin, nasal, and
systemic irritation.
From “The Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory Training Program: First Responder Operation, ”
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Training Institute, Hazardous Materials Section, 1998.